Gabriel Smeets is leaving SNDO



Dear Friends,

First and foremost: A very happy, inspiring and creative New Year.

It will be a year of changes. Also in my life. After seven wonderful years I have decided to leave the SNDO. I have been asked to take the position of artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm, Sweden. And I accepted.
The Cullberg is in a period of transition, convinced of the need for innovation and change, to focus on new choreographers and a new identity as a contemporary dance company rooted in the 21st century. A process that has started already seven years ago and now will be consolidated.
I will start at Cullberg on May 1, 2014.

I have a deep love for the SNDO, its students and its teachers. And it would be very easy for me to continue the love feeling. But … a school that pretends to engage with NEW dance development has an intrinsic obligation for ongoing change and innovation. The school deserves a change again. I feel that my mission is completed: The SNDO has become a department for choreography and takes a strong position now in the international field of dance education. Time for something new. Time for someone new.

Working inside and outside the school with all of you, dear friends, feels like an immense privilege. Thank you for the trust, the challenges, the provocations, the critical reflections, the challenging discussions, the fun, the passion and the sharing of our love for the performing arts and for this amazing and indeed unique school called SNDO.

Thank you and warm wishes,

Gabriel